Pakistan have dropped out-of-sorts pace bowler Mohammad Amir from their 17-man squad for next month's two-Test series against Australia in the United Arab Emirates, with left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz earning a recall.
The Pakistan cricket squad was allowed to leave their managed isolation facility in Christchurch after getting clearance from New Zealand's Health Ministry on Tuesday.
New Zealand face England-beaters Afghanistan aiming to keep their unbeaten run intact
Four other players -- Kashif Bhatti, Haris Rauf, Haider Ali and Imran Khan -- tested positive for the second time earlier this week.
Rohit's men start overwhelming favourites but Shaheen, rain pose threat
The selectors have also put Bilal Asif, Imran Butt, Musa Khan and Mohammad Nawaz on standby to cover for any player who fails pre-tour COVID-19 Testing scheduled later this month.
Azhar was named Test captain this month in place of Sarfaraz Ahmed whose spot as wicketkeeper has been taken by Mohammad Rizwan.
Pakistan will be desperately looking to ensure the painful defeat to India becomes a distant past when they run into an in-form New Zealand in Mohali on Tuesday with an aim to bounce back into the World Twenty20 and pacify their bitter fans back home. Pakistan are coming into the Group 2 Super 10 game having suffered their 11th defeat to the arch-rivals in ICC's world events. The 2009 champions entered the tournament after an early elimination in the Asia Cup. On the other hand, the New Zealanders are on a roll with two massive wins over hosts India and Australia, making them one of the strong contenders to lift the coveted trophy on April 3. Another win and they will be in the knockout stages of the mega-event. New Zealand have emerged as the team to beat after the stunned tournament favourites India first up, before getting the better of traditional rivals Australia in a trans-Tasman battle.
Their campaign back on track after the humiliating loss in the opener, title holders England would look for a dominating all-round effort against a battered Afghanistan in the World Cup in New Delhi on Sunday, with eyes firmly set on bettering their net run rate.
South Africa will look to fix their chasing troubles before the semifinals while Afghanistan will back themselves to beat another top team
Afghanistan (6 points) will not only look to secure two points against the Dutch (4 points) but also aim to win big and improve the net run-rate
The accused, Sohail Khan, started threatening the complainant, Mahendra Singh Rajpurohit, soon after he posted the WhatsApp status on June 6, the police said.
Pakistan fast bowler Wahab Riaz has heaped praise on Boxing Day Test centurion Azhar Ali, saying the opener is `one of the greatest batsmen` the country has ever produced. Azhar (unbeaten at 139) struck his 12th Test century and first Down Under besides sharing an unbeaten 115-run stand with Asad Shafiq (50) to guide Pakistan to 310-6 at the end of the rain-curtailed second day's play of the second match against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Tuesday.
Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis have stepped down from their respective roles, the country's cricket board (PCB) said on Monday.
Their arrival itself was mired in drama and a mercurial Pakistan would look to bring the focus back on their cricket when they take on an enigmatic Bangladesh.
Six of the 10 Pakistan cricketers bound for England who tested positive for COVID-19 have now registered negative results on re-testing, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Saturday. Mohammad Hasnain, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz, however, must return a second negative result before they can join the main squad of 20 players who will leave for England on Sunday.
Suspended from international cricket for an illegal bowling action, Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal on Friday returned to the national side.
The road ahead will be long and winding and much resistance can be expected from the high-flying 'hawks' in our skies. But that should not deter the policymakers from planning a road map with the 'big picture' in mind, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan play a three-match Test series against England starting on August 5, followed by three T20 International matches.
The West Indies' fast bowlers produced a ruthless display to dismiss Pakistan for a disappointing 105 in their World Cup opener at Trent Bridge on Friday. In reply, Chris Gayle led the chase, scoring 50 ff 34 deliveries, as the meagre target was overhauled in 13.4 overs.
As the second season of The Night Manager hits the OTT screen, Deepa Gahlot looks back at the top spy thrillers on streaming platforms.
Marlon Samuels and Darren Bravo frustrated Pakistan's bowlers with a defensive and patient batting display on a slow pitch but West Indies still trailed by 264 runs at the end of the third day of the first day-night Test in Dubai on Saturday.
Seven more Pakistan players tested positive for COVID-19 throwing into doubt their tour of England starting next month. Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Hasnain, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz and Imran Khan are the players from the England-bound squad who tested positive, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced on Tuesday.
West Indies number 11 Jason Holder smashed 14 runs off the final over to earn his side a dramatic tie with Pakistan in the third one-day international at Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia on Friday.
Kraigg Brathwaite made a patient unbeaten 95 to lead West Indies to 244 for six at the close on the second day of the third and final Test against Pakistan in Sharjah on Monday.
Pakistan will open their innings in Sunday's World Cup match against India with Younis Khan in an attempt to accommodate leg-spinner Yasir Shah, and also include talented youngsters Umar Akmal and Sohaib Maqsood in the final eleven.
Opening batsman Khurram Manzoor, who has not played for Pakistan's Test team for three and a half years, is back in the squad for the tour of Zimbabwe that starts this month.
Jolted by the shock loss to New Zealand in the opening game, India will be fighting a survival battle quite early in the tournament when they take on arch foes Pakistan in what is being seen as the marquee clash of the ICC World Twenty20 in Kolkata on Saturday. The hosts, who started clear title-favourites, were in for a blow in the first match itself when New Zealand's spinners bamboozled their famed batting line-up on a turning Nagpur track. As a result, the world No.1 side is staring at an early elimination should it lose to Pakistan in the high-voltage game at the Eden Gardens. As is the case with most India-Pakistan contests, this game too has been preceded by its share of drama. The match was originally scheduled to be held in Dharamsala but was shifted here after the Himachal Pradesh government expressed inability to provide security to the Pakistan team owing to protests by ex-servicemen and their families.
A total of 123 candidates, including seven ministers of Congress-National Conference coalition, eight former ministers and legislators are in fray for the Jammu and Kashmir's first phase of elections scheduled later this month.
Afridi reckoned a good start could take the 1992 champions all the way to the July 14 final at the Lord's.
Younis, who became the first Pakistan player to complete 10,000 Test runs, made 58 while Azam stroked 72 in dominating a 131-run third-wicket partnership which gave the tourists an upper hand into the final session of the day.
Kamran Akmal, the leading run scorer in the Pakistan Super League, is left out of the 15-strong squad after scoring just 68 runs in three ODIs against the West Indies earlier this month.
All-rounder Imad Wasim's unbeaten 49 guided Pakistan to a thrilling three-wicket victory over minnows Afghanistan in Leeds on Saturday, maintaining their hopes of reaching the World Cup semi-finals.
These promotions will allow General Bajwa to shuffle the deck on the top, but this is likely to be a limited reshuffle, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Pakistan's World Cup winning captain Imran Khan took to a social networking site to console the crestfallen Pakistanis after Sunday's defeat to India in Adelaide.
Mohammad Hafeez led Pakistan's strong reply with his third hundred in as many Tests after Bangladesh lost their last five wickets for 27 runs on the second day of the opening Test at Khulna on Wednesday.
Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Irfan has been rested from the team's short limited-overs tour to South Africa this month to prevent the risk of aggravating a hip injury, the country's cricket board said on Saturday.
The Men in Blue also have kept their unbeaten streak against Pakistan in the World Cup as the side defeated them in the 2015 and 2019 50-over World Cup. ies.
Sri Lanka registered a 35-run victory over Pakistan in the second T20I
Umar Akmal has been dropped from the Pakistan Twenty20 squad to face England as he is under investigation for bringing the sport into disrepute in an off-field incident, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reported on Thursday.
